


Sword Art Online: Abduction arc

by Carnath



Category: Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Abduction, Bondage, Chloroform, Gags, Handcuffs, Illustrations, Kidnapping, M/M, straitjacket
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-07-27
Packaged: 2019-12-26 19:14:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18288536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carnath/pseuds/Carnath
Summary: Just as he was freed from the Sword Art Online deadly trap, Kirito falls into an other predicament.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! New gid story settled in the Sword Art Online universe, just between Aincrad and Fairy Dance arcs ;P 
> 
> This is again a three party collaboration:  
> Story by me  
> Words by @FruitsofLabour  
> Illustrations by @Bowen12a 
> 
> This was originally made as a birthday gift for my beloved bf @gaggedsockguy95 
> 
> Hope you'll enjoy it! Comments and appreciations always welcomed!
> 
> PS: there's more to come :)

   Nothing was the same after Kirito came out of Sword Art Online. He spent two years of his life in a virtual world, fighting a virtual war with real life consequences and came back changed in a world that stayed the same. His mind had sharpened in the video game, in a constant state of high alert, wary of the people he passed by, prepared to fight if they came at him. But he was in a boring house with his family, doing boring everyday things.

     The video game transformed him from a naive, carefree child into a mature adult.

     The worst part was there was always a sense of something missing. Like he was waiting for the fuse to burn down to the end of a bomb, trapped in the tension of the calm before the storm. Even as he ate dinner with his family, as he collected dishes and washed them down, and as he walked back to his room, he always felt on edge.

     Or perhaps he felt bored.

     The buzzing of the phone, rattling against the hardwood desk, was unmistakable before Kirito even opened his door. He closed it, letting it click into place before he made his way over to his desk.

     It did that a lot these days. Reporters, old friends, people who’d found his email on the internet, everyone seemed to want to talk with him.

     He let them go unanswered. He didn’t have anywhere or anyone to turn to now that he was forbidden from seeing Asuna. Even Klein never reached out to him… although Kirito never reached out either.

     Truly, he felt alone.

     That’s why he was surprised when he saw a message from Klein, the name staring at him from the LED-lit screen. Pleasantly surprised, he felt a smile grow on his face despite his sorrow. A great friend with a great personality, he always somehow cheered Kirito up.

     He sat down on his bed, swiping right on Klein’s message.

     His smile turned into a frown, brow furrowed as he stared.   
  


     “Hey, Kirito. It’s been a while. Sorry to text out of the blue like this, but I’ve been looking into SAO since we got free. I have something to tell you, but I don’t feel like it’s safe discussing this over text. Text me back and let me know when you can meet up.”

 

     Kirito stared. Something… didn’t feel right. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but there was something about this message that felt wrong. He read the message repeatedly, but it still eluded him. Something in the back of his head whispered, telling him Klein would’ve called rather than texted, would’ve used some slang, or asked him how he was.

     He shook his head.

     Klein had found something, and Kirito needed to know what it was.

     So, he sent him a message back.

     

     “I’ll be there.”

 

     ------

 

     It was cold and the light in Tokyo were barely popping on, illuminating the streets as the orange color of the sky faded into black over the horizon. He felt the chill in the air as he sped down the edge of the road on his bike. His fingers tightened around the handle’s grip, otherwise exposed to the cold. Kirito’s eyes flashed at the bright lights of nightclubs that were barely opening and at the people heading home from work.

     Next time, Kirito thought, he was going to tell Klein they should meet in a restaurant.

     Even with the dark black jacket, he could feel the chill. The slight nip leaving him comfortable, but on the brink of shivering. He pulled the break and brought the bike to a stop a block away from the alley Klein suggested as their meeting spot. Kirito parked the bike in a rack and locked it in before making his way down.

     He gripped his jacket tight around him, digging his cold fingers into the deep pockets, trying to warm them as he searched the streets. Across the street he saw a woman walking her dog, and a dark truck pulling up to the sidewalk. Kirito shook his head. Not everything needed to be observed. This wasn’t SAO anymore.

     Kirito paused at the entrance of the alley. It was right between the insurance office that was closed for the night and the bar which had just opened. He looked left, right, and down the alley. Nothing. No sight nor sound of Klein.

     He couldn’t help but sigh in annoyance. It was just like Klein not to arrive on time. He even set the time for when they were supposed to meet! If he was going to be late, he should’ve just set the meeting closer to his own home, instead of Kirito’s.

     That thought struck Kirito as odd. It was closer to his home than Klein’s… a lot closer. It wasn’t even a long bike ride over.

     Did Klein know his way around this area? He felt doubt begin to rise, a sense of danger that made his hair stand on end, instinct telling him this was a trap.

     He shook his head and cleared his mind. This wasn’t SAO. How many times did he have to tell himself that? This wasn’t a group of PKers out to get him. This was Klein reaching out, trying to share something they both needed. This was the real world… and he had to get used to it. Not everything, and certainly not Klein, was out to get him.

     He leaned against the wall, digging his cell phone out from his pocket. He flicked the screen on, checking the web for any interesting news. All of it was flooded with article, video, and opinion pieces on Argus Corp, of the SAO incident, of the last group of players (all listed by their screen names). All of them ranged in tone, in purpose.

     Some of them theorized the whole incident was one big conspiracy, as if all the players were in on the joke and acted out their own sick fantasies. Most of the articles though, were sympathetic to their plight. A big ‘boo hoo’ for the players, the company, and the people who lost their jobs. One thing that really stood out to Kirito was the word many articles used to describe them.

     Brave. Brave like they volunteered for this. Brave like they decided to face the Big Bad Developer out of the need for Justice. Like it wasn’t just something smaller than that. Like it wasn’t them spending every day in fear. They made the most of their situation and the fear got pushed back some of the time, but that just brought the fear screaming back. Fear that someday Death could strike at them, whether by an enemy, a player, or the looming fear of a bad electricity outage while their bodies lay comatose for 2 years.

     Bravery was a term used for people who volunteered for these fights. This wasn’t Bravery.

     It was simply Survival.

     Someone who sat at home watching this all unfold couldn’t understand what it was like inside. A third party who simply viewed their struggles through second hand remarks and a smudged lens. Never having to worry about Death being right around the corner. Never having watched lives -- countless lives -- fall victim to the cruel machinations of the game.

     But Kirito didn’t expect them to understand.

     “Kazuto?”

     His head jerked up in surprise, quickly turning his cellphone’s screen off and pocketing it.

     Two men were facing him. Both were very large; tall, broad-shouldered, wearing long, black trench coats, and wearing black leather gloves. They looked like two Yakuza stepped straight off the set of a movie and into the alleyway.

     Kirito’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. There was that nagging feeling again. Goosebumps on his skin. A chill that came from deep within. Teeth ground against each other as his jaw locked automatically. “Uh… who are you?”

     “There’s not a lot of time to explain,” spoke the older guy, a man whose only discernible feature was his black hair. “Klein asked us to come and fetch you.”

     “Are you… friends of his?” The feeling wouldn’t leave, no matter how he tried to squash it down. That tone certainly didn’t sound friendly to him, and he didn’t recognize either of these two. He thought back to the game, and he couldn’t recall anyone matching their description in the game.

     “We were hired.” The other one spoke, this one with blond hair. He spoke in a rushed manner, and he waved his hand as if to brush away Kirito’s concerns. “Look. Just come with us, and Klein will explain everything once we get you to him, alright?”

     Kirito hesitated, looking from one man to the other. They watched him, their faces growing from less-friendly to irritated. This didn’t seem right… but the need for answers outweighed any hesitation he felt. He should play along if Klein really was the one who sent him.

     He gave a small nod and took several steps forward. Both men seemed to relax as he conceded, which Kirito found… off-putting. Also, why did he have two guards? Regardless if they were Klein’s alleged friends, it wasn’t like Klein to hide behind the scenes. He was loud, boisterous, outgoing… the exact opposite of this.

     Then something else seemed to click into place.

     He paused mid-step.

     “Wait a second…”

     “What now?” he heard one of them say without bothering to hide their annoyance.

     Kirito narrowed his eyes into a glare, turning towards the man with black hair. “How did you know my real name?”

     “What?” The man snapped.

     “I never told Klein my real name. He only knew me by my screen name ‘Kirito’. Even the articles online only listed our screen names, but you said ‘Kazuto’.” He took a step back, fiercely glaring at the two men as the suspicion and doubt finally won through. “Who are you guys?”

     Now the blond glared at Kirito, quickly crossing the gap between them without a word. Kirito raised his arm in defense automatically, but his reflexes in the game didn’t stop the man from grabbing him at the wrist. “Fuck this. We should’ve just done it to begin with.”

     The black-haired man nodded in agreement, walking forward slowly. “Should’ve just played along kid. Now we gotta do this the hard way.”

[](https://sta.sh/027p1mwxrpnr)   
  
  


     That’s when Kirito’s instincts kicked in. They’d been screaming at him all night long, and now he reached behind him, grabbing his… sword?

     He blinked. Fuck. He wasn’t in Sword Art Online anymore. He didn’t have a sword magically strapped to his back.

     A smirk pulled at the blond’s lips. “You’re not a hero out here, kid.”

     Kirito’s eyes narrowed. He struck quickly, grabbing the blond’s wrist and twisting it hard.

     The blond let out a grunt of pain as he let go and pushed Kirito away from him.

     Kirito was already running toward the alley’s entrance, moving as fast as his legs could carry him, but a weight was thrown onto him from behind, knocking him off his feet and pinning him to the concrete.

     Kirito looked over his shoulder, seeing the black-haired man on him. “Get off me!” He yelled, trying to wriggle out from under him. His arms were weak, atrophied from his time spent in the game, and they weren’t strong enough yet to get free. He saw the blond man move quickly to help his partner subdue Kirito.

     He clenched his jaw, gave a hard yank at his legs and pulled one free.

     The black-haired man’s eyes widened in surprise before Kirito’s shoe connected with his face. He cried out in pain, snarling profanities as he gripped his face.

     Kirito pulled his other leg free and was on his feet, stumbling forward, the light to freedom at the end of the path growing bright.

     Someone was on him. His wrist grabbed. Kirito stumbled, pulled backwards. His body hit a brick wall, the back of his head cracking against it.

     Pain exploded through his head. He gasped, air forced out of him, stumbling forward. He felt his hands grabbed, heard a metallic clink, and felt a sharp pain around his wrists. He could barely make out the gleam of metal through his blurry vision. He couldn’t even focus enough to realize what it meant.

     “That’s it. Just give in. Make it easier on everybody.” The black-haired man said somewhere to Kirito’s left. His hands disappeared into the deep pockets of his trench coat, pulling out a bottle in one hand, and a rag in the other.

     Kirito watched through bleary eyes as the man twisted the bottle open and quickly poured a generous amount of liquid onto the rag. The scent of it, even from a foot away, was made Kirito’s stomach churn and his eyes water. It made him feel sick, but he was still too out of it to fight.

     “Shhh… that’s it. Just breathe into the rag.” The man said soothingly. Then, moving forward, he lifted the rag and pressed it against Kirito’s mouth and nose.

     Kirito groaned, his mind still recovering from the blow. He had no strength to resist. He had no choice but to breathe in that scent. It was strong, sweet. It burned. Burned his nose, his chest, his lungs, everywhere it touched on its way inside him. That’s when the realization hit him.

     Chloroform.

     His mind kicked back in. His eyes widened, and he threw himself backward, throwing his whole body into the bigger man and knocking him back. He was coughing, lungs trying to take in oxygen.

     He stumbled forward. One step. Two steps. Three-

     The man was back on him. This time he wrapped an arm around Kirito’s body, underneath his handcuffed arms. He pressed the rag against Kirito’s face again, forcing him to breathe it in.

     Kirito screamed.

     His voice was muffled by the rag over his face, keeping anyone from hearing him through the steady thumping of music spilling out of the bar close by. He struggled and thrashed, feeling the chloroform light up his chest with a burning inferno. He threw himself back, or more, he fell back. Hard.

     His captor wasn’t expecting this, and he stumbled backward, dropping Kirito out of surprise. Not that it gave him much of a chance to escape. His head was swimming, he was coughing, lungs burning. Desperate for air, desperate to get away, all he could do was crawl away. His vision was blurring, and each breath sent a pain through his chest.

     “I’m getting real sick and tired of you, kid.”

     Kirito was back on his feet, an arm wrapped around his waist, holding him tight enough to make send pain up his spine. The cloth pressed against his face, no longer gentle, but crushing and smothering. If the chloroform didn’t knock him out, Kirito was sure he’d find another way, a more violent way, to make him go down.

     Kirito didn’t have the strength to struggle though. Tears were falling from his eyes, and his legs kicked weakly as he tried to pull free. Then slowly, very slowly, it grew weaker, slower, until finally he couldn’t get his legs to obey him anymore. In a last desperate attempt, he reached his hands up and tried to pull the man’s arm away from him.

     The black-haired man began to drag him down the opposite end of the alley, snickering as Kirito’s struggles weakened.

     Kirito saw the blond man standing by the door, ready to open it.

     It was a large silver SUV with dark windows.  
  


[](https://sta.sh/02nzrq1ebhy)

 

 

      He heard a chuckle. “Nice try kid, but I…”

     The voice faded. It didn’t stop, but it sounded far away. Attempting to reach him over a great distance, a string of sound that seemed vaguely like words. The world seemed to blend together. Colors melting, shapes losing form, a watercolor being washed away.

     Then it began to darken. Blues turned to black. Green into blues. Browns into greens. And slowly, his hands fell. Limp. Lifeless. The colors fading into darkness until -- finally -- all became dark... 


	2. Chapter 2

     Kirito jolted awake. He was ripped out of his slumber, and his mind was filled with a heavy fog. He blinked, eyes adjusting. Everything was a loose collection of colors like watercolors on a canvas. Then they slowly refined. Browns and greens separated, lines applied until he could make out little creases and cracks in the seat in front of him, until the windows separated themselves from the doors.

     He blinked. The windows were tinted, meant to keep outside viewers from peaking in.

     That was weird. Why was he in a vehicle with tinted windows?

     A sudden throbbing in his head caused him to groan. He was glad he was at least wearing a seatbelt, so he wouldn’t roll out of his chair. He noted that he was struggling to breathe well, and it took a minute or two of deep breathing before his strength began to return. The throbbing in his head began to dull into a smaller but still terrible, constant ache.

     Fuck. He needed a drink. His mouth felt as dry as cotton.

     His head throbbed again. He let out a groan, leaning his head back against the seat, raising up his hand to… no, wait.

     He blinked, tired and confused. He pulled at his arms, but something seemed to restrain them. Something cold and metallic, digging into his wrists. Pain started to flood up his arms as he focused on them. What was it…?

     Kirito sat up and for the first time looked at the straps on him. Two were criss crossed over his chest, pinning him back to the seat, while another two wrapped around thighs to keep him sitting. A small spark of instinctive worry and the acknowledgement of danger close by began to light up his brain.

     Wherever he was, he wasn’t like this for a good reason.

     He pulled again, hearing a small rattle. He struggled to turn his head over his shoulder to look at his hands, but he could only see a small gleam of metal as a streetlight passed by, reflecting off the silver bands around his wrists. Were those… handcuffs?

     Where the hell  _was_ he?

     He blinked, trying to think, pushing past the fog and pain. He could almost grasp the memory…

     Fuck.

     He’d been kidnapped.

     That kickstarted his brain. He wasn’t full of energy, but he had the will and mind to struggle. He squirmed in the chair and the meaning of those straps became clear.

     The ones wrapped over his torso kept him from squirming, or more, kept him from making any headway towards freedom. They kept his back pressed up against the chair, so he wouldn’t turn or somehow squeeze free. The ones over his legs kept him seated, unable to even lift them from the floor to kick or make noise. With them as another bondage, something rattled when he attempted to lift his legs, keeping his ankles still.

     More cuffs, he figured. Specifically cuffs for his ankles, connected to either the floor or under the chair. He couldn’t see which. He couldn’t do anything to struggle. All he could do was squirm and whimper helplessly.

     Fear bubbled up in his chest.

     Kirito began to thrash wildly -- or rather, squirm. He was still too weak, too exhausted to put any real energy into his struggles. All he did was bounce a bit, letting out small, whimpering sounds and attempts at screams. They were drowned out by the radio at the front of the van and the hum of the car’s engine. The windows kept anyone from looking in as they passed by or stopped at red lights.

     He was screwed.

     After a few seconds, there was another jolt, this one almost knocking Kirito back into darkness. The lights stopped flying past. The scenery began to slow until -- finally -- it all came to a stop.

     Kirito looked out the window. He could see someone there.

     The man wore a red jacket with a matching headband with two vertical yellow stripes. He’d seen him before. Something far back in his mind triggered. There was a news piece before he logged into SAO for the first time. There was a group of people who lined up days before the release, and he’d been there. And… he’d also gone through several adventures with him in that same world.

     It was Klein.

     He had his hands buried inside the pockets of his hoodie, the same one he wore on the day of the incident. He kept looking up and down the street, constantly checking his cell phone, bouncing on the tips of his toes.

     He was waiting for someone.

     He was waiting for Kirito. That much was clear through the still foggy mess. He must’ve received the same message these men sent to Kirito. He looked nervous, uncertain. He felt the same way Kirito felt, unsure, but unwilling to ignore his friend.

     “Alright,” a voice from the front broke Kirito’s thoughts, “we’ll do this like we planned.”

     Kirito blinked, and his eyes shifted to a grate in the wall separating the back of the SUV from the driver’s side. The two men who’d kidnapped him were there, and they were talking about Klein.

     “Don’t even say his name this time. We don’t wanna screw this up. Just say ‘Kirito’ wanted us to come get him. He looks a bit dense… we might be able to convince him to just climb into the back of the van. Got it?”

     “Sounds good.”

     The van shook a little, bouncing Kirito before a pair of doors slammed shut. They’d left the van. They were putting their plan into action.

     Panic rose, urging Kirito into action. He pulled against the straps more violently, the polyester webbing digging into him. He didn’t care. He had to warn his friend!

     He willed whatever little strength he had and took in a deep breath, screaming and…!

     Hardly anything came out. His heart began to sink as he realized why his mouth felt like cotton. A large cotton pad was in his mouth, absorbing most of whatever sound he could make. His brain was still lagging, still groggy from being drugged with chloroform. He couldn’t tell between a dry, “cotton” feeling mouth and having the cotton inside.

     He tried to push it out and found yet another resistance. Tape was plastered over his mouth and refused to budge even slightly. Whoever these guys were, they weren’t amateurs… at least when it came to the actual kidnapping part.

     Kirito began to shout, regardless if they could understand what he was trying to say, thrashing in his seat and railing against the bondage. Nothing he did had any effect. The straps kept him from moving so much as an inch from the seat, the gag kept him from making too much noise, and the clasp around his ankles kept him from even having enough movement to bang the bottom of the van.

     All he could do was watch.

     He watched as the two men approached Klein. They spoke, and Kirito watched as Klein’s spoke with them. Regardless of what they said, he looked confused and hesitant.

     [](https://sta.sh/0z250irk1g1)  
  
  


     

     Kirito’s heart sank as he stared. The blond gestured to the van. Klein nodded seriously and nodded, walking to the back door.

     Kirito struggled again, screaming his pathetic screams, struggling helplessly in his bondage, doing everything in his limited power to do something -- anything -- to warn Klein, to let him know he shouldn’t approach. He needed to run the other way!

     Nothing got through. Nothing made Klein hesitate for even the slightest second as he reached towards the door handle.

     Klein’s expression fell. His eyes widened, a mix of surprise and terror as he took sight of his bound friend. “Kirito? What are you-?”

     That’s when they struck.

     The black-haired man already had his chloroform-soaked rag in hand when he pounced. One hand wrapped around Klein’s waist, the other pressing the rag against his face. And this time he didn’t give Klein much opportunity to fight. He’d learned from his previous tussle with Kirito.  
  


[](https://sta.sh/0echck5ato)

 

 

     Klein struggled, throwing himself backwards into the man, but he’d been expecting it, and managed to keep Klein still. “Nice try, kid.” He said, amused, pressing the rag harder against Klein’s face. “I already know these tricks.”

 

     There was a spark of anger in Klein’s eyes.

     He lifted his leg and slammed his heel down hard on the man’s foot.

     The man cried out in pain, his grip loosening. Klein drove his elbow hard into the side of his assailant, receiving another cry, and moved to escape.

     He didn’t get far.

     He took no more than a few steps before the blond was on him. He acted swiftly, punching Klein squarely in the gut. Klein doubled-over, shakily backing away, grasping his stomach.

     The black-haired man took this opportunity, growling as he forced the rag over Klein’s face again. “I’m getting sick and tired of this shit.” He snarled.

     Kirito watched as Klein whimpered, shuddering as the chemical kicked in. Then, suddenly, he went limp. His entire weight supported by the black-haired man.

     “Motherfucker had more fight in him than the other.” The man said. “Next time we do this, you’re the one that’s gotta knock ‘em out.”

     “Yeah, yeah. Help me get him strapped in.

     Kirito watched as they carried Klein into the SUV, placing him not so gently on the seat across from him. There was a flash of metal and a click as they locked his hands behind his back. Then they grabbed the straps, fixing it over Klein’s unconscious body.

     Kirito yelled at them. He yelled at them to stop, to let Klein go. It wasn’t really meant to stop them, but he hoped that maybe Klein was still conscious enough to come back to the real world and get free. Like he’d somehow hear Kirito, wake up, and break them both free.

     “He’s awake already.” The blond said, casting a quick glance to their other captive before he finished buckling the straps around Klein.

     “We’ll have to put him under again until we reach headquarters.” His companion said, not even sparing Kirito a glance as he grabbed the rigid cuffs and fixed it on Klein’s ankles. He gave them a test pull, making sure both ends were secure.

     “Fine. I’ll do that.” The blond said with a smirk. He grabbed the rag seeped in chloroform and turned to Kirito.

     Kirito’s eyes widened, and he shook his head, screaming. He didn’t want to be drugged again! He didn’t want to smell the chemical crawling its way down his throat and into his chest. His vision blurred as tears filled his eyes. His screams changed from rebellious protests to fearful whimpers, pleading with the man not to drug him -- not again.

     He saw the black-haired man behind the blond, forcing a balled up cotton rag into Klein’s mouth. Klein really was knocked out.

     The blond pressed the rag against Kirito’s face, and, despite his whimpering pleas, pressed the rag hard over his nose.

     And, after a moment or two of choking on the burning chemicals, Kirito went limp.

     Erything melted into darkness.  
  


[ ](https://sta.sh/01um3ylhylr1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to general acclaim, here's the next chapter of the SAO story. Hope you'll enjoy it :)
> 
> There's still one chapter to come after this one. For the next one... well, I should start to write it, because it'll definitely not be the end. As long as you like it, of course :)


	3. Chapter 3

     When Kirito came to, he felt groggy. Groggy like on those days when you wake up and feel tired. Not sleepy, but tired. An exhaustion deeper than just mere sleepiness, a fog that made you want to sleep more when you weren’t tired, a weakness in the body that made every action feel as if you’d become emaciated. Opening your eyes or lifting your head took the same effort as climbing a mountain.

     That’s how he felt when he woke. His head lolled to the side, and he could feel a trail of drool along his chin. He must’ve been snoring at some point, because the inside of his mouth and throat felt dry, almost painfully so.

     He raised his head with a groan, something pathetic and whimpering as it took every bit of effort he had while the gears in his head began to slowly turn. He tried to shake his head, tried to shake the exhaustion, and found the effort too much. Worse, it made him feel sick. Dizzy.

     He tried to push the sheets off him and found he couldn’t even summon enough strength to do  _that_. He must’ve rolled around in his sleep because the sheets felt like they were wrapped tightly around him. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d struggled to unbind himself from his blankets.

     “Hey, sleepy head!”

     The voice broke through the haze, and Kirito blinked. He slowly opened his eyes, wincing as they adjusted to the bright light. Everything started to come into focus, and the first thing he saw was Klein. In a straitjacket.

     He blinked again, confusion marring his features. Why was Klein in his room and in a straitjacket? He eyed the straps wrapped around Klein’s arms to keep them pinned to his body. His arms were folded in front of him and forced into sleeves looping back. The black front straps held Klein’s arms still, and Kirito assumed the black straps moved to the back and intricately kept them tight over his body. His legs were heavily bound as well, wrapped around in black polyester straps to keep him from moving, and the rigid cuffs were clamped around Klein’s feet, keeping him helpless.

     Kirito turned his eyes down to himself and noticed he was in a similar position. Straitjacket and all.

     He hadn’t noticed it on Klein, with his legs bound tightly and the other leaning forward, but there was a black strap slipping down over his crotch and probably back up to the back of his jacket. Yet another thorough bondage to keep him absolutely helpless.

     ‘ _Oh. Right. Those guys.’_ He thought angrily to himself as the memory of the past day came flooding back to him. He scowled and moved to stand only to feel something tug him back down. He looked over his shoulder and saw a strap connecting the back of his jacket to the d-ring embedded in the wall. Wherever they were, it was safe to assume it wasn’t anywhere good.

     He heaved a heavy sigh. Well, this was definitely a bad day.

     He looked over at Klein, who offered him a weak smile, an attempt at comfort.

     Kirito smiled back and opened his mouth to say somethi-

     Or not.

     He blinked, attempting to talk and felt something covering his mouth. The tape from earlier, he surmised.

     Kirito scowled again, getting an amused chuckle from Klein in response. Dammit, why did they ungag Klein, but not him? He wasn’t even the loud one!

     Klein grinned, gesturing to the wall with his head. “Try rubbing your face against it. You might be able to peel off the duct tape if you’re lucky. We’re close enough to the wall that I was able to get it off.” He gestured to the ground, his eyes flicking to a ball of cotton and a strip of duct tape.

     Kirito nodded. ‘Nothing I can do but try.’ He thought as he tried to get close to the wall. It wasn’t as easy for him as it was for Klein, or at least, that’s what he figured when he heard a few snickers from him. He moved to the edge of his seat to the nearest wall, leaning up against it. The strap pulled at his back, keeping him from getting too close or falling off.

     It was a real pain with the straitjacket pulling at him in all directions. The strap on the wall pulled at the back of his jacket, which pulled at the black straps holding his arms, and then tugged uncomfortably at his groin. Still, he wasn’t going to just sit here with the gag on.

     He pushed through it, grunting as he rubbed his cheek against the wall, slowly and firmly. He could feel the corner of the duct tape latching to the wall! Kirito let out a shout of victory as he slowly and carefully pulled the tape off over his cheek, lips, and finally to the floor. Kirito spat the cotton ball out, grinning at his friend.

     “Fancy meeting you here,” Klein offered.

     “Not exactly how I imagined we’d meet up...” Kirito murmured.

     Klein shrugged, and the entire straitjacket shifted with it. “I guess I won’t be getting that pizza from you anytime soon.” He teased, giving Kirito one of his carefree smiles.

     “How’d they convince you to meet?” Kirito asked seriously, completely ignoring that last part. He’d get Klein one of his pizzas later as an apology... if they got out of this situation in one piece.

     Klein scowled, but answered quickly. “I received a text saying you needed some help regarding the incident with SAO. I dunno... honestly, I was just so eager to meet you after all we’ve been through, I didn’t give it much thought.”

     “It’s the same with me.” Kirito admitted, letting out another sigh. “I didn’t send you any messages, and I’m guessing you didn’t send me any either. I thought they were fishy from the start, but I couldn’t figure out why until it was too late. I tried to fight back, but...” He shook the straitjacket, glaring at the floor in anger and disappointment.

     “Oi oi, don’t get too upset.” Klein said, smiling as Kirito looked up at him. “After all, I’m the one who willingly climbed into a stranger’s car. I guess all those ‘stranger danger’ lectures were lost on me as a kid.” He let out a small laugh, and Kirito couldn’t help but feel... relieved. Relieved that Klein was still just as nice and friendly on the outside of SAO.

     They laughed for a while, but it wasn’t because there was anything particularly funny about their situation. They both knew the moment they stopped laughing, they’d have to deal with the situation they were trapped in. And that wasn’t exactly a happy thought.

     Klein stopped laughing first, grinning. “The important thing is: at least we’re together.”

     Kirito offered a small smile of his own, and he saw Klein’s own smile grow, happy to have cheered Kirito up slightly. “Yeah, at least we’re here together. I can’t imagine what I’d be doing right now if you weren’t here. Uh, speaking of here...” Kirito looked around at the bare, stone walls, at the steel door that led into the room, at the straps on his straitjacket both in front and behind him. “Where exactly  _is_  ‘here’? Where are we? Why did they grab us?”

     Klein frowned, closing his eyes as he tried to think. “I don’t know... I was knocked out by the chloroform when I was kidnapped. Next time I opened my eyes, all I saw was a lot of sidewalk... oh! Wait... I think I also saw a logo for that RECT company, but they knocked me out again before I could see anything else.”

 

     [](https://sta.sh/026kcrj2mw6f)

  
  


 

     “RECT?” Kirito asked.

     Klein nodded.

     “I guess this is about Sword Art Online. RECT took over the project after the original company went under after the whole SAO incident. And since we’re two of the top surviving players... maybe that’s why we’re involved.”

     “Look, don’t worry about it, okay? We’ll be alright.” Klein smiled, sparking some hope within the SAO survivor. “We’ll get through this, Kirito.”

     “Kirito,” he corrected, smiling back. “Kirigaya Kazuto.”

     Klein’s grin grew, spreading warmth into his friend. “Nice to meet cha for real this time, Kazuto. I’m Tsuboi Ryoutarou, but Klein has gotta be easier.”

     Kirito chuckled, but it was cut short. There was a loud clunk on the other side of the door, making both of them tense, preparing for whatever came for them. The door screeched as it opened. They both winced at the sound.

     ”...can’t believe he yelled at us. We did our job fine.” The voice was familiar. It was the blond kidnapper, and -- from the sounds of it -- he wasn’t too happy.

     

“ _I_  did our job just fine.” The black-haired man growled out, getting a ‘meh’ from the blond. “Let’s just hurry up and get this over with.”

     They came round the corner and into view, the blond man stepping through first before he was joined by his partner. They stopped, staring at their two captives. Awake and ungagged.

     “Who are you?!” Klein started, struggling in his bonds. It was like he’d suddenly forgotten he was helpless as the rage built up inside him. The chain behind him rattled noisily, but kept him stuck. “Why did you kidnap us?!”

     “I thought you gagged them.” The blond man said, raising an eyebrow at his partner. The other glared at him.

     The black-haired man opened his mouth to speak, but Kirito cut him off, joining in with his friend’s protests.

     “Untie us! People will know we’re missing, so untie us or-“

     “Shut it.” He snarled. “I don’t wanna hear you two. Next time we’ll just have to use a real gag.”

     By the time he finished, the blond handed him a leather gag. Like the tape, these had a large section so it’d completely cover their mouths, and a pair of straps to fix it over the back of their heads. Unlike the tape, a large black bulb stuck out from one side of the leather panel, looking vaguely like plugs for their mouth.

     “Here,” he said, grinning. “Take care of it.”

     The black-haired man glared at the blond before moving toward Klein.

     Kirito could only watch as he approached his friend, hand on his jaw, gag in hand. He could hear Klein protest, words becoming garbled as the hand forced open his jaw.

     “Stop it! Let him go, dammit!” Kirito shouted, struggling too, thrashing about as much as he could. The straitjacket didn’t let him get far, and he couldn’t move his arms or legs! He could only watch as the man lifted the gag towards Klein’s mouth.

     When the black-haired man stepped behind Klein to buckle the gag, Klein was gagged. The plug in his mouth, and the leather panel covering the area from his chin up to underneath his nose. A light pink tinged his cheeks, looking at Kirito slightly embarrassed. Still, he struggled, kicked, and thrashed, at least as much as he could.

     Kirito tensed when the blond man approached him from behind. Sweat beaded on his skin, and he struggled to move away despite his predicament. “N-no! Get away!” He yelled. Nothing he did stopped the man’s approach. There was no way he’d show a lick of sympathy toward their situation.

      

     [](https://sta.sh/05rauzew94a)  
  
  


     The hand closed over his jaw. Fingers and thumb pressing on opposite sides. The man lifted the gag, the side with the plug facing Kirito. “Open wide.” He said in a sing-song voice.

     Kirito tried to resist him, tried to keep his mouth from opening. The more he resisted, the harder the man squeezed his jaw until -- finally -- he pried his lips open. Complete with the “aaah” sound on cue, as if Kirito was a kid being forced to take a pill.

     Then the man forced the plug into Kirito’s mouth, forcing it in until the leather panel pressed against Kirito’s face. He did it slowly, as if relishing the frustration on Kirito’s face. The man quickly moved to fix the straps behind Kirito’s head, keeping the gag firmly in place.

     Kirito was blushing too. The plug gag was more embarrassing than he’d thought it’d be.

     He looked over at Klein who was now being fitted with a black leather blindfold, tightened behind his head.

     “There. That’s a lot better.” The blond man ruffled Kirito’s hair, leaning in with a wicked grin. “You sure you’re the one who beat the game? You two are a bit weak to be  _real_  heroes.” He patted Kirito’s cheek, though it almost felt like a slap.

     “Come on, I finished with this one. Let’s take them up before we get into more trouble.”

     Klein struggled almost silently, even under the blindfold Kirito could tell he looked worried. He moved his head blindly between the two men, listening as they spoke. The gag was effective, making almost any sound he made completely unintelligible.

     Kirito couldn’t help but mirror his feelings.

     What were they planning?

     The blond chuckled. “And now, for you.” He reached around and forced the black leather blindfold over  _his_  face too! Kirito was immediately plunged into darkness, and he frantically shook his head, trying to throw the blond off. But the man didn’t seem to take any guff as he pulled the blindfold tight and buckled it behind his head.

     Now Kirito could only listen as the two men laughed at them. He tried to snarl in response, but very little came out. The plug gags were too effective to even get a real understanding of what Klein was trying to say.

     He listened as there was a clink and the scuffing of feet.

     “Grab his feet. I’ll take his arms.” The blond said.

     He heard the ruffling of the straitjacket in response and a very small sound.

     “Don’t wanna struggle too much, kid. It would hurt if we ended up dropping ya. Not like there’s anywhere to run anyways.” The blond snickered as they carried Klein out of the cell.

     Kirito listened to the scuffing of their captor’s feet until the door screeched closed. A loud clunk was the last lingering sound in the room.

     And then he was left in silence.

     He could hear his breathing, hard and heavy. He could hear every grunt as he struggled, every small creak and groan of the threads in his straitjacket, holding him still.

     Then he tried to more strategic. He lifted at the jacket in one direction, then another, pulling at his arms, trying to find some spot or weakness for him to exploit. Nothing.

     There was no escape.

     He screamed. Screaming into the gag as loud as he could. Screamed at the helplessness. At his inability to do anything. At his inability to help his best friend.

     Only silence answered him. He sighed, leaning back into the bench, spent from the day’s events. The chloroform kept him feeling sapped and tired. He’d fought too hard and struggled too long to have much energy left.

     He closed his eyes and thought of Klein in those last moments. The friend he made in SAO. His friend who was dragged into this mess.  _Again_. His friend who got caught up in this because he believed in and trusted Kirito. Perhaps even loved him.

     Kirito didn’t know how much time he’d spent sitting there. It just felt like he’d been kidnapped days ago, and now he was alone. Alone like he always felt nowadays. Now that he thought about it, there wasn’t much of a difference. This was just physical, and the world he’d been thrust back into was his mental bondage.

     The minutes stretched on, but when the door swung open, he felt infinitely better. The two men were back.

     Kirito began to talk again. Where was Klein? What did they do to him? What was their plan?

     They ignored everything, or probably didn’t hear him with the gag. The two men approached and untied the strap behind him, as they probably did with Klein.

     “I’ve got this.” The black-haired man said, large hands grabbing at Kirito and lifting him in his arms, bridal style. “He’s not nearly as heavy as the other guy.”

     Kirito squirmed, trying to wriggle free. He didn’t care if he fell or that his legs were bound or that he didn’t know where he was. He didn’t want them to carry him off so easily. And, more so, being carried like this was embarrassing.

     His struggles didn’t do anything. He didn’t even seem to get the black-haired man to grunt with an effort to hold him.

     Then something covered his ears. The previous sounds, what little there were, became muffled. He could only hear himself grunt, shouting behind his gag, but nothing else.

     Then came a noise. Muffled. Distant. He strained his ears. Was someone talking? He couldn’t tell. He couldn’t move, see, or hear. He was deprived of almost all his senses. He began to struggle more, trying to put up whatever little fight he could. He’d done so much struggling up til now, and none of it seemed to matter.

     The only response he received was a sharp slap upside the head.

     Perhaps it was how tired he was or maybe it was he recognised how helpless he was, but whatever the reason, he let out a small whimper and stopped. He simply laid there in the big man’s arms.

     Satisfied, they started moving. Kirito could tell by the rhythmic rise and fall in time with the steps. They walked for what felt like a very long time. The seconds seemed to stretch into minutes, minutes stretching into hours. He assumed they went through an elevator at one point, because they seemed to be stopped for a long time.

     

 

     [](https://sta.sh/02bi9q8fcfr4)

 

 

 

     

     Finally, after more walking, they arrived at their destination. He was lifted up and placed (or perhaps dropped was more accurate) onto something hard.

     He didn’t know where he was, but he assumed it was another bench, since it felt similar to the seat he was on before. His feet were dangling, however, unable to touch anything solid. Kirito’s first instinct was to start up his fighting again, but he was worried about falling or getting hit again. He was in such a vulnerable state...

     So he settled with looking around blindly, questioning into the abyss.

     Then hands were on him, one steadying him at the shoulder and the other removing his blindfold.

     Nobuyuki’s evil smiling face met him. The bastard was grinning, waving down at him like a child. He reached over and slipped the earmuffs off. “Hello in there! Can you hear me okay?”

     Kirito scowled. Of course Nobuyuki was behind all this. After the threat he’d made, after he revealed his true intentions, he should’ve known he was behind all this. But why the charade? Why involve Klein?

     “Shhh... leave all the questions to the end,” he teased, “I’ll explain everything.” Nobuyuki pat Kirito’s cheek, leaning in a little closer. Why did people keep doing that?! “When you brought SAO down, you allowed RECT to move in and snatch it. We took Kabaya Akihiko’s data, which was genius on the surface, and ran it through with a fine-toothed comb. Our engineers spent  _weeks_  sifting through the game’s data. And what we found was Kabaya locked his core research on human cognition in the SAO system and made it completely inaccessible from the outside. I took SAO’s game data, copied it, and altered it into a new game, to enter and unlock it.” He scowled here, putting a finger on his chin thoughtfully. “What we discovered is there’s another stipulation to unlock it. A player from the original group who played in SAO must enter and unlock it through a special quest; as if it wasn’t bad enough, it requires someone with a high enough level to complete it. I could have made that work for me... eventually, but it was much too time consuming. The accounts are also locked to the people who used them, so I couldn’t steal an account and overlay it onto myself. He turned to face Kirito head on, leaning in like he was about to tell him a secret. “And since no player would ever  _agree_  to return to this world, regardless of its redesign, I had no choice but to recruit some new players.”

     Kirito immediately began to struggle again, much to the bastard’s delight. Nobuyuki crossed his arms in front of him, that wicked smirk pulling his lips wide. “And since we needed players who actually fought in the final battle, we settled on you two.”

     Kirito began to shout threats and commands, but everything was muffled by the thick leather gag.

     Nobuyuki simply laughed, shaking his head at Kirito’s struggles. “Remove the gag.” He commanded to someone out of sight. “We might as well let him talk for a minute.”

     The blond appeared wordlessly, fingers fumbling at the buckles behind Kirito’s head. He pulled the gag free, practically yanking it out of Kirito’s mouth.

     “You’re insane!” Kirito spat. “You can kidnap me, and everyone else who was there, but no one is going to help you. I’m sure Klein told you he’s not going to help you in your crazy scheme.” He paused, a sudden thought striking him. He looked around frantically, although his bonds made it difficult to do so. “Where’s Klein? Let us go! Now!”

     “Oh, sorry.” Nobuyuki said, feigning sympathy. “He’s already hard at work.” He grinned, snapping his fingers as the black-haired man appeared with a cot with Klein lying down in it.

     Kirito stared. Klein was strapped to a medical bed, brown straps lining his legs and chest. He wore a NerveGear and was, presumably, deep inside the game.

     Kirito opened his mouth to say something, but then something occurred to him. He looked down and realised with horror that he was on a medical bed too. He began to struggle immediately.

     Nobuyuki snapped his fingers again and the two kidnappers descended on him, forcing his back onto the bed.

     “No!” He shouted, thrashing frantically as they held him down. “No! I won’t help you! I won’t go back! I won’t!” He fought as hard as he could, and he could feel them struggle to keep a solid grip on him. Even exhausted as he was, he found the strength to continue fighting. He wouldn’t go back easily. He didn’t want to go back!

     But eventually his struggled ended the same as before. Eventually one grabbed the brown straps and forced it over Kirito’s body, tightening it so he could barely move. When they were done, he was bound to the frame, unable to lift himself even an inch off it.

     Nobuyuki walked over, clapping sarcastically at Kirito’s useless attempt at escape. He brushed Kirito’s hair out of his face, forcing him to look up at him. “Don’t worry about all that facial cognition and body parameter set up.” He murmured, his tone mocking; triumphant in the face of his enemy. “When we obtained the game and its data, we carried all that over. That way, we don’t waste time keeping you still long enough to set up all the configurations. Neat, right?”

     Kirito growled, the straps and straitjacket creaked as Kirito tried to lift his arms. He wished he could just give Nobuyuki one good punch to that smug face. “Let us go! You can’t do this!”

     He couldn’t help but look at the other cot where Klein lay. Klein looked so sad, already trapped in the new world, in the new nightmare, in the continuation of a war they thought they’d escaped.

      

     [](https://sta.sh/01i61a5f1sb4)  
  
  


     “You know the rules,” Nobuyuki said, adopting a mocking sing-song voice. “Once you go in, you don’t come out.” He laughed. “Not until we get what we want. And we’re willing to wait a long, long time for you to figure it out.” He let the threat hang in the air for a moment.

     Kirito shivered in fear. He already lost two years of his life to SAO. Now he could lose even more to this game. Or... he could finally die.

     “Asuna is in there too.”

     Kirito’s eyes widened. If Nobuyuki carried over all the information from the last game, he would have carried over Asuna’s consciousness before the end of the game too. She never left the warzone that was SAO. Asuna was trapped in the game, long after he escaped.

     His struggled weakened. He was trapped, good and well. Klein might still need him to stay alive. Asuna needed him to help her get free. He had to go back in.

     He hated this bastard. He hated giving into him. But his friends needed him. They might die without him.

     Tears welled up in his eyes. Anger, frustration, and -- worst of all -- fear. Fear of going back into that world, of losing his friends. “You better be ready when I come out.” He snarled, voice shuddering, breaking slightly under the immense pressure of his emotions. “I won’t let you get away with this. I won’t.”

     “I already have,” Nobuyuki said, smiling triumphantly down at Kirito as the two men grabbed the NerveGear. One held him down while the other place it over his head.

     The last thing he saw was Nobuyuki’s arrogant and triumphant face.

     Tears slid down his cheeks. His breath coming in shivering waves.

     Then he heard the NerveGear shouting the familiar phrase.

     

“LINK START!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here at last: third chapter of my SAO story.
> 
> I don't have other pics in stock... for now. But if the public reclaims it, I may definitely order some more and continue the story.


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